London’s City University scraps Cass name from business school over slavery links
London’s City University has dropped the name of its Cass Business School over its 18th-century namesake’s links to the slave trade.
The school, which frequently ranks in the world’s top MBA programmes, today said it will be renamed City’s Business School after a unanimous ruling from its shareholders found the name was “incompatible with City’s values of diversity and inclusion”.
The business school was renamed the Sir John Cass Business School 18 years ago, following a £5m donation from the Sir John Cass Foundation. The English merchant and Tory MP obtained part of his wealth through his role as the director of the Royal African Company, which derived the bulk of its money through the trade of slaves.
The BBC described Cass as “a major figure in the early development of the slave trade and the Atlantic slave economy, directly dealing with slave agents in the African forts and in the Caribbean” in a report following the Black Lives Matter demonstrations.
Professor Sir Paul Curran, president, of City University, said: “The announcement of our decision to change the name of City’s Business School by no means marks the end of the issue.
The work we are doing to address racial inequality and to ensure City is an inclusive place to work and study will continue.”
The move marks the latest in a long list of London institutions distancing themselves from links to former slave traders.
The Bank of England last month apologised for the involvement of past governors and directors in the slave trade and vowed to remove all statues and paintings of them from its City headquarters.
Lloyds of London, Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), RSA Insurance said in June they would make payments to projects benefiting minority ethnic communities after their links to the slave trade were exposed.
Other British universities are facing mounting pressure to address the connotations of their former figureheads, as the UK faces a moment of cultural reckoning following Black Lives Matter protests around the world.
Bristol University said it would review both its logo and the names of several of its buildings following stiff criticism of their links to slavery. The university’s logo features 17th century slave trader Edward Colston, whose statue in Bristol was toppled last month and thrown into the Avon river.
It comes after Prime Minister Boris Johnson sparked widespread criticism last month over his decision to launch a fresh review of racial inequality in the UK, despite the government not acting on policy recommendations in previous reviews.
Labour MP and shadow justice secretary David Lammy said: “Black people aren’t playing victim, as Boris indicated.”
“I don’t know why he’s announced a commission behind a paywall in the Telegraph in yet another article about Churchill… Get on with the action. Legislate. Move. You’re in government — do something.”
Before the Open: Get the jump on the markets with our early morning newsletter